Three new ADs at area high schools
By MARK NELKE
Sports editor
The fall high school sports season in the area will begin with three new athletic directors in charge.
At Coeur d'Alene High, Bill White replaces Mike Randles, who was recently named principal at CHS after five years as AD.
At Lakeland High, Matt Neff was named interim athletic director, replacing Mike Divilbiss, whose contract was not renewed after three years as AD with the Hawks.
At Kootenai High, Nolan Kerby replaces Doug Napierala, who did just about everything at the school in Harrison Flats. Napierala stepped down as football coach and AD last year, but is still listed as the Warriors' girls basketball and track and field coach.
WHITE, 49, has been at Coeur d'Alene High for more than two decades, after spending his first two years in education at Lakeside in Plummer/Worley, where he also coached track.
He was an assistant wrestling coach at Coeur d'Alene for nearly a decade, was a Viking freshman football coach for one season, and was a wrestling official for a few years.
He was a vice principal in charge of discipline the last three years at CHS.
"My plan was to get into the AD field," said White, a 1990 grad of Kellogg High, where he wrestled. "When Mike went over to principal, he asked if I'd be interested in being AD. I'd been around sports a lot, and the timing is right. Norma (Alley, the school's longtime athletic secretary) knows what's going on, and having Mike in the building to ask questions to is huge."
White, born and raised in the Silver Valley, was a shop instructor for most of his teaching years at Coeur d'Alene High.
"With me in the building since '99, I know most of the coaches," White said. "It's something I've wanted to do for quite a while."
NEFF, 47, has been in the Lakeland School District for 23 years.
He started out at Timberlake High as an assistant wrestling and football coach, and was the Tigers' head wrestling coach for four seasons.
He then coached wrestling and cross country at Lakeland Junior High, and was an assistant football coach at Lakeland High under Tim Kiefer, whom he also coached with at Timberlake earlier in his career.
Neff has been an assistant principal at Lakeland High the past few years.
Neff competed in football and wrestling at Lakeland, graduating in 1992. He went to state in wrestling three times.
He's been a lifer in the district, starting as a first-grader at Athol Elementary 41 years ago.
"My roots are deep," Neff said. "Trent (Derrick, Lakeland principal) asked me if I would step in ... it wasn't on my radar. But I had a pretty good handle on the athletic side; I've worked with all these people. I have a good sense of Lakeland athletics."
Neff said Zach Horsley, longtime assistant coach, will take over as head wrestling coach, replacing Rob Edelblute. And Bill Ryan, former boys basketball assistant coach and father to former Lakeland volleyball and girls basketball star Katy Ryan, is the Hawks' new boys and girls tennis coach.
Kerby, 30, is entering his fifth year at Kootenai. He'll continue to teach junior high social studies, and is working toward earning his administration degree in December.
"I felt this would be good experience," said Kerby, who played multiple sports at New Plymouth High, graduating in 2009. "I love athletics, and I want to get the program going at Kootenai; we've struggled for quite a while."
Kerby started a basketball camp in the area a year or so ago, and hopes to make other youth camps available to area athletes.
"It starts young," said Kerby, who was junior high boys basketball coach at Kootenai, and an assistant track and field coach at the high school for three years. "I'm trying to get the basic skills going at the younger levels, and hoping we'll see results when they get to the high school level."
Kerby said Jake Pfeiffer, a 2014 Kootenai High grad and assistant football coach the past five seasons, has been named head football coach, has been named head football coach, replacing Napierala.
And Kaili Gentry, a 2018 Kootenai grad, has been named head volleyball coach. Her mom, Mary, was the Warriors coach for four seasons (2014-17).
"Both of them will be very good," Kerby said. "I love hiring alumni, because they know the program, and many of the families. It makes it more special for sure."
